You still go to church twice a week? Why?

I recently was catching up with someone that has known me for over 25 years, and they asked about church. As I was talking, they then said, “Why do you go week after week, let alone twice a week? Do you learn anything? I mean, you have been going for years, do you have to go all the time?”

In today’s culture of one hour services once a week, I suppose this was a fair question. I mean, two hour services twice a week, minimum, not counting other activities, is highly unusual today.

The questions not only caught me off guard, but it also began a soul searching in myself to be better prepared the next time I was asked something like this. I realized there are several reasons that I attend church at least twice a week and it also reminded me of how thankful I am that I can and also that I am a part of such an awesome body of believers!

Here is what I came up with:

The Bible says to forsake not the assembling of yourselves together. (Hebrews 10:25) It also says in John, if we love Jesus we will be obedient to Him and His ways. I desire to be an obedient daughter of God. For God would rather have obedience than sacrifice! (1 Sam 15:22)And there is a blessing that God bestows upon obedient people. (See Deuteronomy 28)

I love being a part of something bigger than myself. Many times during the week we can feel so isolated and alone. We all work at different jobs and face different situations, but when we all arrive at church we are there together for one thing: to worship our God. The Bible says that one of us can put a thousand to flight and two of us an rout legions. (Joshua 23:10) When we come together to worship, pray and hear the word, we foster unity and where there is unity, God commands a blessing! (Ps 133) Not to mention the warfare that is accomplished on our behalf. (more on that later)

Why twice a week???? Do you need all that? Hmmmmm I wanted to reply – “Why do you go to the same bar over and over, do you need all that? Don’t you get tired of seeing the same people all the time? Hearing the same things, drinking the same drink? LOL

I attend church twice a week 95% of the time. And when we have special services, I also attend those. Why? Well, the world is rough. The news can be scary. People can be mean. Burdens get heavy. (add in your own troubles!) If I can go mid-week and be refreshed and uplifted, why not? Besides, I am always afraid I will miss something when I am not there! Who knows if that would be the night that God will give my pastor the words I need to solve a dilemma, or give another person a word of knowledge or word of wisdom. I have a better chance of that happening in a gathering than with just me sitting at home with the TV! Besides, TV has almost ZERO encouragement or life to ever give me. Unless I find a biblical show – so I might as well go ahead and get the real thing in person!

Do I learn anything? I actually had to think about this one. I’ve been in church all of my life. I love to learn even though I don’t always learn something new at each service. And that is okay! However, I always get my faith stirred and strengthened! Oh! Don’t you see the value in that? When you know something, and someone else shares a word that confirms it, or when our pastor expounds on a principle that reaffirms your faith, how awesome is that?! I mean, once you learn about verbs and adjectives, you don’t quit doing them or discussing them in school, you learn them so that you can practice them and use them whenever you need them! This is the same way with the Word of God. You learn a principle and then you dig in and get the meaning of it, and you figure out how to apply it to your life situations. Oh, of course I read the Bible and study outside of church. Friends, if you only read and study your Bible at church, you are missing it! In the times we live in, it is imperative that we study for ourselves and then when we come to church, what we hear should confirm what is already in our hearts if it is not something brand new to us. AND if it is new to us, then we have the responsibility to take notes and go home and study it out. See how this cycle works? Faith comes by hearing and hearing the Word of God. (Romans 10:17) It is not a one time thing!

There is nothing like corporate worship! We can all worship God at home and in our car, etc., and we should. But, there is nothing like coming together with people of like-minded faith and worshiping together. When we all assemble, and are singing the same thing at the same time, it brings unity. Oh, it may take a song or two to get the “junk” of the day out of our minds, but when we all focus on Him and do it together in one accord, WOW! He inhabits the praises of His people! (Ps 22:3) It reminds me of the story of King Jehoshaphat in the Bible. He was surrounded by enemies and didn’t know what to do! So he ASSEMBLED his people together, and said we are going to praise and worship our God. He sent the praise team first and they declared God’s goodness. WOW – do you know that this threw the enemy into confusion and they killed themselves? And not only that, but it took the “assembly” THREE DAYS to carry off the spoils left behind. So, not only did God defeat their enemies while they were gathered together and praising Him, but He provided for them as well. We have no idea the work going on in the spirit when we gather and praise our God. No doubt God is defeating enemies on our behalf and providing for us! Why? Because He is not a man that He should lie and is true to His word! He’s a good, good Father!

I love my tribe. Yes, tribe. I love being with people of like-minded faith and prayer. A community of believers that love and care for one another. Look at the dictionary meaning for tribe: a social division in a traditional society consisting of families or communities linked by social, economic, religious, or blood ties, with a common culture and dialect, typically having a recognized leader. How cool is that? It is an honor to serve our Lord in such an awesome place of community and love. It is a joy to be a part of something that is bigger than myself, that is making a difference in the community and in our region. It is exciting to support my church with ten percent of my income plus offerings. Tithing is a whole other teaching, but it was instituted before the law of Moses and it is viable in the New Testament. I know that God has blessed me and kept me because I am a tither and a giver and no one will ever be able to talk me out of that. Besides, I don’t feel like I would be a part of something if I did not give back. We are designed to serve and to give. God gave and we are made in His image.

So, why do I go to church week after week, month after month, year after year? It’s biblical, it’s fulfilling, it encourages me and it’s working. Even when things don’t seem to be working, the principles and laws of God work. It is the kingdom way of life. I have chosen to serve Jesus and in doing so, I have died to my own thinking and desires. Easy? No. Worth it? Yes. And I have testimony after testimony how God has kept His word to me. How I have been blessed in the House of God. God is faithful, even when people are not, God is good and faithful.

So, I will leave you with this verse and hope that a love for the House of the Lord increases in your life, and becomes a part of who you are and what you do. Let it be a legacy that you pass to your children’s children and may God bless you richly in this revelation as you are obedient to His word!

Psalm 122:1 I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD.

 

Pastor’s Blog 10.30.18

One of the hardest things to do is remain thankful. Each year our culture in America becomes more entitled, and people as a whole, become less thankful.

Daily, I try to remember to thank the Lord for the wonderful things He has provided. What do I deserve? Nothing. Why? To deserve something means that you earned it. To earn something you would have to be morally righteous according to the perfect law of God. Herein lies the problem. The scripture says:

Romans 3:9-26 All Have Sinned
9 What then? Are we better than they? Not at all. For we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin.
10 As it is written: “There is none righteous , no, not one;
11 There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God.
12 They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one.”
13 “Their throat is an open tomb; With their tongues they have practiced deceit”; “The poison of asps is under their lips”;
14 “Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.”
15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16 Destruction and misery are in their ways;
17 And the way of peace they have not known.”
18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.
20 Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
21 God’s Righteousness Through Faith But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,
22 even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference;
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
25 whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed,
26 to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. NKJV

Also see Psalms 14:1-3; 53:1-4

The way to remain thankful is to stay out of the attitude of self-righteousness, and stay in the attitude of gratitude, as thankful children to a loving Father who has bestowed upon us a gift of righteousness!

When I think I have done my best and am deserving of a rest, I need only remember the Sabbaths I have broken and thank the Lord! When I have really believed, and not allowed myself to be deceived, I need only to remember, how many times I did doubt,and gave cause to do without and thank the Lord!

Let us not forget to do our very best to remain a thankful people as we daily live in the benefits He has so freely given us by His Grace!

Be Blessed indeed!

Pastor’s Blog 10.24.18

What has happened to a Biblical world view? In reality the Ministers of the Gospel are supposed to be guarding the truth as the knights of ancient times would guard the King and his Kingdom. But many desiring the praise of men, have turned aside from the truth to build for themselves a kingdom of followers on the earth. We were taught long ago to be watchful of these things, however people love the praises of men.

2 Timothy 4:1-5 TPT
Timothy, in the presence of our great God and our Lord Jesus Christ, the One who is destined to judge both the living and the dead by the revelation of his kingdom—I solemnly instruct you to proclaim the Word of God and stand upon it no matter what! Rise to the occasion and preach when it is convenient and when it is not. Preach in the full expression of the Holy Spirit —with wisdom and patience as you instruct and teach the people.
For the time is coming when they will no longer listen and respond to the healing words of truth because they will become selfish and proud. They will seek out teachers with soothing words that line up with their desires, saying just what they want to hear. They will close their ears to the truth and believe nothing but fables and myths. So be alert to all these things and overcome every form of evil. Carry in your heart the passion of your calling as a church planter and evangelist, and fulfill your ministry calling.

1 Timothy 6:17-21 TLB
17 Tell those who are rich not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which will soon be gone, but their pride and trust should be in the living God who always richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment.
18 Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and should give happily to those in need, always being ready to share with others whatever God has given them.
19 By doing this they will be storing up real treasure for themselves in heaven-it is the only safe investment for eternity! And they will be living a fruitful Christian life down here as well.
20 Oh, Timothy, don’t fail to do these things that God entrusted to you. Keep out of foolish arguments with those who boast of their “knowledge” and thus prove their lack of it.
21 Some of these people have missed the most important thing in life-they don’t know God…

I have met many people that know a form of Church, but don’t know God. When I get outside the walls of the church each year, I see less and less of a Biblical world view. I was speaking to a recently converted agnostic and he said something that caught my attention. “Satan taught me that there is a God.” He said.

When I asked him to elaborate he went on to explain that just looking at the world from a perspective of being an agnostic, he could not explain the world’s hatred of Christianity. He simply deduced that for the world to hate Christianity so much, that had to prove there was an intelligent design to the evil of it, and if evil had an intelligence, then there must also be a God, so he received Christ! His testimony is that the evil of Satan convinced him there is/was also a God.

It just goes to show that God can use anything to reach anyone! We must never give up! We will continue to defend the truth and declare it to all who have an ear to hear!

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